Citizens of Soil, who’s award-winning extra virgin olive oils are on a mission to turn a commodity into a community, is debuting a single-serve format of its Great Taste-winning Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Andalucía using Notpla’s seaweed-based packaging—a first to market in the UK.
Thanks to this novel material, the pipettes are 100% natural, biodegradable, home-compostable, vegan, and even edible! The intuitive pipette design allows oil-lovers the chance to experience EVOO in a completely new way; simply pinching and twisting the nib to remove, before squeezing the pipette for an easily controlled drip release.
Notpla won the 2022 Earthshot Prize, which was founded by Prince William as one of his flagship climate initiatives, for turning seaweed into a plastic packaging alternative, and has been named the ‘first and only’ material recognised as plastic-free by a European Union country.
To date, its solutions have already replaced 16 million pieces of single-use plastic that would otherwise have entered the environment.
Citizens of Soil was the first brand in the UK to offer refill options for extra virgin olive oil when they launched their lower-waste pouches on Waitrose shelves last year, with their core range also now live on Ocado as of this month. This marks their continued push for more innovation and transparency across the olive oil category.
Along with sourcing directly from small-scale groves, Citizens of Soil champions female producers and those using regenerative agricultural practices that promote soil health, biodiversity, and nutrition.
Citizens of Soil is leading on transparency in the space by displaying quality indicators on pack, such as the harvest date, specific olive varieties, producer information, polyphenol (antioxidant) count, as well as having full traceability from farm to fork.
More about the EVOO:
Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Málaga in Andalucía
Vibrant & peppery, this oil has a fragrant fruitiness, with bright red tomato aromas of the fruit and vine itself. On the palate, there’s a hint of fresh celery & a bitterness like almost lemon peel, with a full sensation of a spiciness like ginger and black pepper.
Pair it with peppers, tomatoes, and rice dishes. For the cooler months, it’s stunning with hearty stews and over beans. Try it with everything from mango to Manchego.
The producers: A young, dynamic woman named Marina who’s been transforming her family groves with a mobile mill to get the freshest fruit flavours to make their multi-award winning quality, as well as sustainability practices that make them a stand out in the region.
(Bottles normally retail for £24.50 for 500ml // £22 for 500ml pouch)
Led by Olive Oil Sommelier, Sarah Vachon, and drinks expert, Michael Vachon, Sarah explains: “I’ve long been a fan of Notpla’s inspiring work to transform the packaging and waste space, and since Citizens of Soil is rooted in its impact around people and planet, this partnership is one of shared values.”
She goes on to say: “We’re constantly working to improve our footprint, but finding a solution that fits the temperamental and delicate nature of the highest quality extra virgin olive oils is not easily done. Light, air, heat, and time are all ‘enemies’ that degrade EVOO, but it also won’t work with certain plastics and traditional ‘eco’ or compostable packaging options since it can leach. Notpla offers a material that’s not only nature-based and edible, but also extensively tested and trialled.”
In addition to launching on Ocado and in more than 150 Waitrose stores, Citizens of Soil is also features across the entire Booths estate and continues to sell their limited-edition Extra Rare bottles in the likes of Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Sous Chef, and top independent stores around the country.
